Books is the library brand.

Books is the library brand. College students are looking for worthwhile information. College students trust information from both libraries and search engines. In Parts 1 and 2, we reviewed data related to college student respondents use of libraries and their familiarity with and favorability toward a variety of information sources, including libraries and their resources. We reviewed the frequency of use of library services, how these respondents keep up-to-date with library services and their satisfaction levels with those services. In this section, we move from reviewing usage and familiarity of information sources to reporting responses related to perceptions and trust. Ubiquitous access to content is in its infancy and there is much to learn about how people make choices and form preferences about electronic resources and services. How do college students assess and value electronic information? What, and who, do they trust? What mindshare does the Library hold compared to other information resources and services available to those with access to the Internet? The survey data provide some insight. College students were asked to rate the specific criteria they used to evaluate and verify electronic resources. The top three evaluation criteria used by college students are that the source provides worthwhile information, provides free information and provides credible/trustworthy information. All respondents, including college students, rely on themselves to judge if an electronic source is trustworthy. Common sense/personal knowledge is the top verification criterion among total respondents and college students. Both groups total respondents and college students also verify information trustworthiness based on reputation of the company and by finding the information on multiple sites/cross-referencing. Respondents believe free information is trustworthy and overwhelmingly do not trust information more if they have to pay for it. Few have paid for information. We explored the question of product fit by asking respondents to tell us how well they felt different information sources fit with their lifestyle. Ease of product use and consumption or fit is often a key driver of both current and future use. Respondents feel search engines are a perfect fit with their lifestyle. Libraries fit but are not a perfect fit. This is true overall and for the college student subset. We examined respondents perceptions of the library and library information resources by asking an open-ended question about top-of-mind associations with libraries and positive and negative associations. Across all regions surveyed, respondents associate libraries first and foremost with books. There is no runnerup. Total respondents provided thousands of positive and negative associations College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-1

about libraries. Overall, respondents provided more positive than negative associations. Top positive associations are related to library products books, materials, computers, etc. Many of the negative associations were also related to products and offerings, followed by customer/user service and facilities. Respondents were asked what they felt was the main purpose of the library. While about a third of total respondents and college students indicated they felt the main purpose of the library is books, 49 percent of college students and 53 percent of all respondents feel that the library s main purpose is information. 3.1 The Value of Electronic Information Resources Provides worthwhile information is the top criterion students use when selecting electronic information. Free is also an important factor. College students use multiple criteria to determine the value of electronic information sources. Contrary to what is often attributed as the primary benefit of digital information access, speed of information delivery is not the most critical factor respondents use to evaluate electronic information resources. For college students, four criteria were selected more frequently than speed. Eighty-two percent of college students typically select an information source based on whether the source provides worthwhile information. College students also base their decision on if the source provides free information (73 percent), if the source provides credible/trustworthy information (73 percent) and ease of use (64 percent). Recommendations are used by just 36 percent of college students as a criterion for selecting an electronic information source. To provide access to print media and electronic media. 20-year-old undergraduate from the United States question 810, What do you feel is the main purpose of a library? 3-2 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

Evaluating Information Sources by College Students and Total Respondents How do you decide which electronic information source to use? (Select all that apply.) Heaps of lovely, lovely books to browse, choose from & Read... for free! A full spectrum of choice: a range of topics, genres, etc 26-year-old undergraduate from Australia question 812a, Please list two positive associations with the library. 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 82% 77% Provides worthwhile information 73% 72% Provides free information 73% 63% Provides credible/ trustworthy information 64% 65% Based on the ease of use 63% 62% Provides fast information College Students Total Respondents question 715. 36% 28% Based on a recommendation 3.2 Judging the Trustworthiness of Information College students rely on themselves to judge if electronic information is trustworthy, as do total respondents. College students indicate they use a variety of criteria to select an electronic resource. As noted earlier, 73 percent of college students indicate that providing credible, trustworthy information is a key evaluation criterion. To understand more about the criteria used to judge the trustworthiness of electronic information, respondents who selected this criterion were asked to indicate how they judge trustworthiness. Eighty-three percent of college students indicate they use personal knowledge/common sense to determine trustworthiness. Three other criteria were selected by over half of college student respondents. These include the ability to find the information on multiple sites/cross-reference (71 percent), the reputation of the company/organization (69 percent) and recommendation from a College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-3

trusted source (68 percent). Only 2 percent of college students indicate that electronic information is trustworthy because it costs money. Factors in Determining Trustworthiness of Information by College Students and Total Respondents How do you judge if electronic information is trustworthy? Base: Respondents selecting provides credible/trustworthy information in question 715. College Students Total Respondents Based on personal knowledge/common sense 83% 86% Find the information on multiple sites/cross-referencing 71% 65% Based on the reputation of the company/organization 69% 75% Recommendation from a trusted source 68% 59% Based on the author 46% 26% Based on the professional appearance of the site 42% 28% Other 3% 3% The fact that it costs money 2% 1% question 725. a conduit for information to the general public and a reliable, trustworthy source 47-year-old graduate student from Canada question 810, What do you feel is the main purpose of a library? 3.3 Trust in Library Resources and Search Engines Libraries and search engines both provide trustworthy information according to college students. College students levels of belief in both the trustworthiness and lack-oftrustworthiness of libraries is higher than that of overall respondents. More than half of college students (53 percent) believe information from search engines is at the same level of trustworthiness as library information. In contrast, 69 percent of total respondents feel that information from a search engine is at the same level of trustworthiness as a library information source. Roughly a third or more of college students believe that the library s sources are more trustworthy than that of Ask.com, Google, Yahoo! and search engines in general. Twenty-two percent of total respondents believe that information received from a library is more trustworthy than information received from a search engine. Note that even though use varies considerably among brands of search engines (see Part 1), the level of trustworthiness among Ask.com, Google and Yahoo! is nearly equal. Sixteen percent of college students and 9 percent of all respondents indicated they believe library sources are less trustworthy than search engines. 3-4 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

Trustworthiness of Library Sources vs. Search Engines by College Students and Total Respondents Thinking about your usage of your library and the things you like and dislike about it, is the information you get from the library sources more or less trustworthy compared to the information you can get from search engines? 70% 65% 60% 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% Library sources more trustworthy About the same Library sources are less trustworthy DARKER LINES = COLLEGE STUDENTS LIGHTER LINES = TOTAL RESPONDENTS 0% Search Engines Ask.com Google Yahoo! question 1205. A library is vital in order to get information. I trust and love libraries. The web cannot take over because the library is sacred. 18-year-old undergraduate from the United States question 810, What do you feel is the main purpose of a library? College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-5

3.4 Free vs. For-Fee Information 88 percent of college students have not paid for information or content from an electronic information source. The survey examined another aspect of trust by asking if respondents trust an electronic information source more if they have to pay for the information. Ninety percent of college students do not trust information they have to purchase more than they trust free information. Similarly, 92 percent of the total respondents said they do not trust the information more if they pay for it. Free vs. For-Fee Information by College Students Would you trust an electronic information source more if you have to pay for the information compared to a free source? 10% question 755. Paying for Information Via an Electronic Information Source No Yes The survey asked respondents to indicate if they have ever paid for information or content from an electronic information source. Eighty-eight percent of college students report they have not. 90% Free borrowing 22-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom question 807, What is the first thing you think of when you think of a library? Of the college students who have purchased information or content (12 percent), a third or more have purchased a registration to a Web site, audiobooks, articles or subscriptions (48 percent, 39 percent, 37 percent and 33 percent, respectively). Results for total respondents are similar. Eighty-seven percent of total respondents indicated they have not paid for information or content. Of those who have, nearly a third or more have purchased a registration to a Web site, a subscription or an article (51 percent, 38 percent and 26 percent, respectively). 3-6 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

Free vs. For-Fee Information by College Students Have you ever paid for information from an electronic information source? What did you buy? YES: 12% NO: 88% What did you buy? Registration to a Web site 48% Audiobooks Articles Subscription 33% 39% 37% Electronic books 17% Answer to a question 3% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 625 and 630. The survey also asked respondents who have purchased information from an electronic information source if the future frequency of purchasing would be more, less or about the same. More than half of the college students report they will purchase information from an electronic information source less frequently, at 56 percent. In contrast, 59 percent of the total respondents report frequency of purchasing information will remain the same, 25 percent say frequency will be less and 16 percent say frequency will be more. Information Purchases in the Future by College Students and Total Respondents Do you anticipate you will be paying more frequently, less frequently or at about the same frequency for electronic information in the future? Base: Respondents indicating they have purchased information from an electronic information source listed in question 625. College Students Total Respondents More frequently 4% 16% About the same 40% 59% Less frequently 56% 25% question 635. College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-7

Free vs. For-Fee Verbatim Comments Would you trust an electronic information source more if you have to pay for the information compared to a free source? College students provided 266 comments to an open-ended question asking why they would or would not trust an electronic source more if they had to pay for the information. Responses indicate a wide range of perceptions and expectations with regard to for-fee information. Some feel that for-fee information is more likely to be trustworthy because it is likely more scrutinized prior to release. Others feel that because so much free information is readily available, it is hard to justify any payment and payment for information typically would be considered a scam. The traditional notion that higher price equals higher quality appears not to hold true for information as a commodity. There is a clear theme expressed through the comments that information should be free and available to all. Note: All verbatim comments presented as entered by survey respondents, including spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. Because it is more likely to be accurate and truthful, while anyone can make a website and put any information on it even if it s not accurate. 21-year-old undergraduate from the United States I m not sure the website would still be trustworthy regardless of if it costs money. I d also base it on the appearance of the site, credibility in the author, and also it would depend on how the website gets my money (paypal, etc). 20-year-old undergraduate from the United States It most likely comes from a journal or other source where they have editors who choose which information to sell. They would lose money if people discover the information is false. 22-year-old undergraduate from the United States Because the web is a place where anyone who wants to make a quick buck can write a good ad & charge people money to access information. I d be more likely to pay money for information through more traditional channels, such as print media etc. 38-year-old graduate student from Australia 3-8 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

Payment is no guarantee of quality. 44-year-old graduate student from Canada information should not include price. Knowledge is free and therefore should be to all people. However, pay sites most likely do so because they need to offset the cost of the putting the information together at first. 38-year-old graduate student from Canada Having to pay for a source does not guarantee it will be a reputable source of information. 50-year-old graduate student from the United States I find that most of the information I get is from free sources. I would pay if I needed an archived article (and I had no other way of obtaining it) but not for a search. Maybe for a highly specialized search (although I would use my librarian first)... 35-year-old graduate student from India Payment for service means little. Look at the new Google Scholar service it is an excellent resources for study. 43-year-old undergraduate from Australia 78% of college students rely on their teachers/ professors for validation. 3.5 Validating Information College student respondents most often cross-reference other Web sites to validate electronic information. Seventy-one percent of college student respondents judge the trustworthiness of electronic information sources by cross-referencing to other sources (see Part 3.2). The survey explored cross-referencing as a method of information validation. Survey respondents were given a list of possible cross-referencing sources and asked to select all that apply. More than a third of college students (36 percent) use a librarian as a method for validation. Other Web sites with similar information was their top choice for validation, at 80 percent, followed closely by teachers/professors, at 78 percent. Seventy-six percent of college students also rely on print materials, 64 percent on library materials, and 59 percent rely on an expert in the field of interest as sources for validation. Librarians are rated as the least-used cross-referencing source for validation among total respondents at 16 percent. Over 80 percent of total respondents use other Web sites with similar information as a validation tool. Print material is selected as a cross-reference source by 68 percent of total respondents. College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-9

Cross-referencing Sources to Validate Information by College Students and Total Respondents What other source(s) do you use to validate the information? (Select all that apply.) Base: Respondents selecting find the information on multiple sites/cross-referencing in question 725. 90% 85% 80% 75% 80% 82% 78% 76% College Students Total Respondents 70% 65% 60% 68% 64% 59% 55% 50% 51% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 25% 42% 37% 36% 36% 35% 37% 29% 26% 20% 15% 16% 10% 5% 0% Other Web sites with similar information Teacher or professor Print materials Library materials Expert in the field of interest Coworker or professional colleague Librarian Friend Relative question 735. Trusted Sources for Recommendations Teachers/professors are the top trusted sources college students use for validating information. Two percent consult librarians when seeking help from a trusted source. While 71 percent of college students judge the trustworthiness of electronic resources by finding information on multiple sites/cross-referencing, 68 percent indicate they use recommendations from a trusted source. We asked this subset of respondents to identify who or what is their most trusted source they typically use. Nine options were provided and respondents were asked to select one. Forty-five percent of college students use a teacher/professor as the trusted source to help judge if electronic information is trustworthy, eclipsing any other response by a factor of at least three. The next most used source, other Web sites with similar information, is used by 15 percent of college students. Librarians were selected as a trusted source for validating information by 2 percent of college students. 3-10 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

While 65 percent of total respondents judge the trustworthiness of electronic resources by finding the information on multiple sites/cross-referencing, 59 percent of total respondents indicate they use recommendations from a trusted source. Nineteen percent of this subset of respondents use an expert in the field of interest as the trusted source they typically use to help judge if electronic information is trustworthy. Like the college student responses, librarians were selected as a trusted source for validating information by 2 percent of total respondents. Trusted Sources for Validating Information by College Students and Total Respondents Who or what is that trusted source you most typically use? Base: Respondents selecting recommendation from a trusted source in question 725. Teacher/Professor 10% 45% Hard copies of materials easy to navigate Ability to cross reference and photocopy Other Web sites with similar information Print material Expert in the field of interest Library materials 9% 6% 5% 15% 17% 13% 14% 19% College Students Total Respondents 43-year-old undergraduate from Australia Relative 4% 9% question 812a, Please list two positive associations with the library. Friend 3% 11% Librarian 2% 2% Coworker/ professional colleague 2% 11% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% question 745. College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-11

3.6 Libraries Positive and Negative Associations Books and information are the highest positive associations college students have with libraries. Books and materials yielded the highest number of negative associations. Survey respondents were asked to provide in their own words two positive and two negative associations about libraries. Responses from 364 college students yielded 638 positive comments (an average of 1.75 comments per respondent) and 363 college students provided 611 negative comments (an average of 1.68 comments per respondent). Responses from 3,034 total respondents yielded 5,271 positive comments (an average of 1.74 comments per respondent) and 2,985 total respondents provided 4,793 negative comments (an average of 1.61 comments per respondent). Books are heavy and you may only need a small amount of information. 30-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom question 812b, Please list two negative associations with the library. Verbatim responses were grouped into four categories: Products and Offerings, Facility/Environment, Staff and Customer/User Service. These primary categories were used to group both positive and negative associations. As the following graph indicates, respondents positive and negative comments are matched across the four categories. Respondents had strong positive associations with products and offerings; respondents also had strong negative associations with products and offerings. Both positive and negative associations were remarkably consistent between college students surveyed and respondents in general. Positive and Negative Associations of Libraries by College Students and Total Respondents Please list two positive and two negative associations with the library. 60% 50% College Students Positive associations Negative associations Total Respondents Positive associations Negative associations 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Products and Offerings Facility/Environment Staff Customer/User Service question 812. 3-12 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

large variety of resource material free 50-year-old graduate student from Australia question 812a, Please list two positive associations with the library. Free resources and books Free databases and Internet 48-year-old undergraduate from Canada question 812a, Please list two positive associations with the library. Positive Associations Note: All verbatim comments presented as entered by survey respondents, including spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. Products and Offerings Books: 18 percent of college student respondents provided positive associations related to books. These comments included free books, many or a variety of books, borrowing books, good books, available or accessible books and browsing books. Information: 16 percent of college student respondents included positive thoughts related to information, including free information, accurate/ trustworthy information, reliable information, access to information, current information and comprehensive information. Materials: 8 percent of college student respondents offered comments associated with library materials, such as a variety or many materials available, free materials and borrowing materials. Free: 8 percent of the college student respondents have positive associations related to the concept of free or free access. Resources: 5 percent of the positive associations were associated with access to free or a variety of resources. Computers: 3 percent of the positive comments related to computer or Internet access. Easy to access/find: 3 percent of the college student respondents provided positive statements about the ease of accessing or finding information or resources. books! books! 19-year-old undergraduate from the United States being able to access information free of charge having a large number of specialized books available. 24-year-old graduate student from Canada lots of information available range of materials (books, persiodicals etc). 22-year-old graduate student from the United Kingdom They give people access to books that they could not afford to go to the store and buy. They allow people who can not afford a computer to use the one at the library. 22-year-old undergraduate from the United States The diversity of information available. The amount of information. 20-year-old undergraduate from the United States College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-13

Positive Associations (cont.) Facility/Environment 13 percent of the college student respondents have positive associations of the library related to the: Quiet environment Friendly and comfortable surroundings Work environment Quiet environment and easy access to research material 24-year-old graduate student from the United States rich in resources peaceful atmosphere conducive to concentration 55-year-old graduate student from the United States question 812a, Please list two positive associations with the library. A good place to get information and a good place to study 20-year-old undergraduate from the United States nice atmosphere a place to go to get needed information 21-year-old undergraduate from Canada Staff 9 percent of college student respondents provided positive comments related to the library staff, including: Helpful Friendly Knowledgeable amount of information assistance of librarian 19-year-old undergraduate from Australia Helpful librarians, and it has everything and if it doesn t they can get it for you. 19-year-old undergraduate from the United States question 812a, Please list two positive associations with the library. hands on data librarian help 22-year-old undergraduate from the United States Large selections of books and availability of knowledgable staff to help find information 19-year-old undergraduate from the United States Friendly Staff Meeting like minded readers 51-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom 3-14 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

Public access Lots of information 49-year-old graduate student from Canada question 812a, Please list two positive associations with the library. Positive Associations (cont.) Customer/User Service 4 percent of the college student respondents have positive associations of the service provided by libraries. Some of the positive associations are: The practice of being open to the public The online catalog Interlibrary loan and library linking The way libraries are organized Libraries meet respondents needs Fun to search for information 23-year-old undergraduate from the United States online catalog reserve books, music, tapes/dvd s 20-year-old undergraduate from the United States Provides a central location of different types of information. Easily accessible 18-year-old undergraduate from the United States Comprehensive resource Knowledgeable librarians to check 35-year-old graduate student from Singapore good catalogue lots of journals 25-year-old graduate student from the United Kingdom Provides many services and products for free or cheaper than they would for the individual. Provides a wide variety of resources for people who would otherwise not have access to them. 20-year-old graduate student from Australia College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-15

Negative Associations Note: All verbatim comments presented as entered by survey respondents, including spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. Products and Offerings Books: 13 percent of the college student respondents had negative associations with library books, including that they are: Not available Not current Difficult to access Not taken care of or are dirty Heavy to carry Of limited variety Not what is needed Having to wait for books to be returned Other comments suggested that there are too many books and that the respondents have to return the books to the library. Materials: 12 percent of the negative comments related to library materials, including: The limited variety Not available Are hard to access/find/use Are not current Are not what is needed Are not taken care of/dirty Are not circulated Information: 7 percent of the college student respondents made negative comments regarding information, including: Hard to access/find/use Not current Not available Not what is needed Too much Limited variety Computers: 3 percent of the college student respondents have negative associations regarding: Outdated computers Computers that are not available Having to travel to get to the library. Sometimes poor condition of books and magazines 19-year-old undergraduate from the United States question 812b, Please list two negative associations with the library. Time-consuming: 4 percent of college student respondents made negative comments indicating that use of the library is time-consuming. Dated materials. May not have materials considered non-mainstream. 50-year-old graduate student from the United States INFORMATION NOT ALWAYS AVAILABLE, BOOKS NOT UPDATED REGULARLY 49-year-old graduate student from Canada books are heavy and you may only need a small amount of information 30-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom 3-16 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

Negative Associations (cont.) Doesn t always have what you want. Limited availability. 20-year-old undergraduate from the United States not a wide selection, sometimes material is not up to date on research subjects 20-year-old undergraduate from the United States Not enough computer in here. Lack of new books for kids. 18-year-old undergraduate from the United States time consuming hard to find 23-year-old undergraduate from the United States Have to actually go into the library Takes alot of time to search through all the books 18-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom distance to travel to (incurs time and money implications) not open in the evenings 53-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom question 812b, Please list two negative associations with the library. Facility/Environment 12 percent offered negative comments about the library environment, including: Too quiet Too noisy Too crowded Limited parking Too small Dirty Confusing layout Homeless people Outdated Travel there: 7 percent of college student respondents have negative associations with travel to the library. Dull: 4 percent of the college student respondents indicated that libraries are dull. Not convenient: 2 percent of the college student respondents commented that the library is not convenient. Old-fashioned Boring 20-year-old graduate student from the United States nerd s hangout dull, boring places 19-year-old undergraduate from Canada Uncomfortable chairs A long, drawn-out process 21-year-old undergraduate from Canada Having to physically go to the location to borrow a book or find the information. They are not open all the time. 19-year-old undergraduate from the United States College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-17

Negative Associations (cont.) Customer/User Service 23 percent of the college student respondents provided negative associations related to: Limited or poor hours of operation Fees and policies associated with using the library Stringent return dates and other limits on circulation Use of the online catalog Poor service Waiting in line Lack of privacy Strict rules. Overdue fees. 21-year-old undergraduate from the United States question 812b, Please list two negative associations with the library. need to pay fees to gain access to books/articles/journals only extract of books are available 40-year-old graduate student from Singapore overdue costs short due dates 49-year-old graduate student from Canada 1. You are limited to access of the informaiton by the library s hours of operation 2. There may not be a library convienient to you. 30-year-old undergraduate from the United States Fees for late books. Renewal of cards. 21-year-old undergraduate from the United States Staff 6 percent of the college student respondents indicated negative associations related to the library staff, including: Unfriendly Unavailable Not knowledgeable Not helpful hard to navigate, difficult to find knowledgeable help 21-year-old graduate student from the United States the libraries that I have been to have librarians that don t like to help. They expect you to figure out where the book is that you are looking for and don t like using the card catalog. 21-year-old undergraduate from the United States unhelpful staff sometimes difficult to get your hands on the information you need because somebody else has the books out 21-year-old undergraduate from Canada question 812b, Please list two negative associations with the library. 3-18 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

3.7 Lifestyle Fit College students are reading less and using the library less since they started using the Internet. Watching television, using the library, reading books, reading magazines and purchasing music are the top five activities students report doing less frequently since they began using the Internet. Seventeen percent of college student respondents report their activities have not decreased since they began using the Internet. Fourteen percent of college student respondents say they visit with family and friends less often. Decreased Activities Due to Internet Use by College Students and Total Respondents What activities do you engage in less often since you began using the Internet? (Select all that apply.) Watch television 39% of college students use the library less since they began using the Internet. Use the library Read books Purchase music Read magazines Read the newspaper Go to the mall or physical store Fax documents Listen to the radio I don t use any sources less often than before I began using the Internet Visit with friends or family in person College Students Total Respondents 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% question 415. College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-19

Information Sources and Lifestyle Fit Nearly two-thirds of college students say search engines fit perfectly with their lifestyles. Understanding how compatible a product or service is to a consumer s lifestyle and consumption habits can provide interesting insights into how a consumer may use that product or a competing product or service in the future. Respondents rated search engines, libraries, online libraries, bookstores and online bookstores as information sources that did, or did not, fit with their lifestyle. College students are more likely than respondents in general to rate information sources as fitting perfectly within their lifestyle. Whether rating search engines, libraries, online libraries, bookstores or online bookstores, college students are comfortable with information sources as part of their lifestyle. Sixty-three percent of college students rate both online and physical libraries as having a good to perfect fit for their lifestyle, while less than 50 percent of total respondents do so. While college students rate libraries significantly higher than all respondents do, college students still rate search engines higher than they do libraries, with 94 percent indicating that search engines are a good to perfect lifestyle fit, which is similar to the response from total respondents at 90 percent. Information Sources by Lifestyle Fit by College Students Thinking of each information source and your information needs and lifestyles, would you say it...? 70% 65% 60% Fits perfectly with your lifestyle Is a good fit for your lifestyle Somewhat fits your lifestyle Does not fit your lifestyle 55% 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Search engines Library Online library Bookstore Online bookstore question 1345. 3-20 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

Information Sources with Perfect Lifestyle Fit by College Students and Total Respondents Thinking of each information source and your information needs and lifestyles, would you say it fits perfectly with your lifestyle? College Students Total Respondents Search engines 64% 55% Library 24% 17% Online library 30% 15% Bookstore 21% 14% Online bookstore 24% 16% question 1345. Online Libraries and Lifestyle Fit Although both information sources are Internet-based, substantially more respondents rate search engines as a perfect fit than online libraries. Thirty percent of college students indicate the online library fits perfectly with their lifestyles, while 64 percent indicate search engines are a perfect fit with their lifestyles. Fifteen percent of total respondents say the online library fits perfectly with their lifestyles. Fifty-five percent rate search engines as a perfect fit. Online Libraries Compared to Search Engines by College Students Thinking of each information source and your information needs and lifestyles, would you say it...? 65% 64% 60% Online Libraries 55% Search Engines 50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 30% 33% 30% 27% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Fits perfectly with your lifestyle Is a good fit for your lifestyle 6% Somewhat fits your lifestyle 11% 1% Does not fit your lifestyle question 1345. College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-21

3.8 Books the Library Brand The library brand is books. Books and research 22-year-old undergraduate from Canada a place to find all kinds of books 19-year-old undergraduate from the United States Book Heaven! 21-year-old undergraduate from the United States BOOKS 32-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom books, books, and more books 40-year-old undergraduate from Australia Lovely, lovely books! The complete package! 26-year-old undergraduate from Australia lots of books!! 47-year-old graduate student from Canada Books! 35-year-old graduate student from India Borrowing books 29-year-old graduate student from Singapore lots of books free 23-year-old graduate student from the United Kingdom In the introduction to this report, we noted that one of the most important goals of the project is to begin to provide a clearer understanding of the Library brand. In this section, we consider what the library brand might mean to college student respondents. Brand is derived from the Old Norse word brandr, which means to burn, as brands were the means by which owners of livestock marked their animals to identify them. 1 The American Marketing Association defines brand image as the perception of a brand in the minds of persons. The brand image is a mirror reflection (though perhaps inaccurate) of the brand personality or product being. It is what people believe about a brand their thoughts, feelings, expectations. 2 We asked a variety of questions in this survey to help us collect information about the library s brand image and about the respondents thoughts, feelings and expectations. 1. Kevin Lane Keller, Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring and Managing Brand Equity, (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1998), 2. 2. http://www.marketingpower.com/mg-dictionary.php?searched=1&searchfor=brand%20image (accessed October 15, 2005 ). 3-22 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

We asked the open-ended question: What is the first thing you think of when you think of a library? A total of 3,785 verbatim comments were provided from 3,163 total respondents and were grouped by main theme. Of the total, 396 verbatim comments were contributed by 384 college students. About 70 percent of total respondents, as well as 70 percent of college students, associate library first and foremost with books. There was no runner-up. First (Top-of-mind) Association with the Library by College Students and Total Respondents What is the first thing you think of when you think of a library? Books, i love all the books. To pick up a book and hold it in my hand is still a really cool feeling. 27-year-old undergraduate from the United States question 807, What is the first thing you think of when you think of a library? 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Books Information Building (Environment) College Students Total Respondents Research Materials Reference Entertainment question 807. Note: The percentage is based on the number of comments received divided by the number of respondents. Some respondents chose to provide more than one response, and all responses were included. Brand Associations The open-ended responses from the 3,163 total respondents and 384 college students were also analyzed for secondary themes or descriptors that could lend understanding of library brand image. The words book or books were mentioned 261 times by college students, and the word information was the top-of-mind recall 26 times among college students. Among total respondents, the words book or books were mentioned 2,152 times and the word information was the top-of-mind recall 291 times. Other descriptors mentioned infrequently included access, the physical building, the librarian and library as a place for information, but the overwhelming response is that the library brand equals books. Words often used by librarians to describe libraries and library services include trust, privacy, authoritative, quality, education and learning. We reviewed 396 verbatim comments from 384 college students to the question What is the first thing you think of when you think of a library? to see how many times College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-23

trust, privacy, authoritative, quality, education and learning were mentioned by college student respondents. The words trust, privacy and authoritative were never mentioned by college students. Quality was mentioned once. Education was mentioned once; learning was mentioned three times. Books were mentioned 261 times. Top-of-Mind Library Associations College Students Total Respondents Books 261 2152 Information 26 291 Quality 1 2 Education 1 4 Learning 3 9 Free 5 70 So why the overwhelming brand image of library as books? As mentioned in the introduction, Environmental Scan discussions with librarians over the past two years have often surfaced a view that a potential reason for the disconnect between the user s perception of libraries as books and the librarian s association with a much broader set of products and services is a lack of user education. Many have expressed a feeling that today s information consumer is just not aware of what is currently available at libraries. The survey data would support the assertion that library users (aside from college students) are not aware of many electronic library resources. As reported in Part 2.2, total respondents are unaware or unfamiliar with many of the products and services currently available at the library. Although college students have more awareness of library electronic resources than respondents overall, many are not sure what libraries offer. Thirty-two percent of college student respondents are not sure that their libraries offer electronic journals. Thirty-one percent are not sure that their libraries provide online databases. Twenty-three percent are not sure if their libraries have online reference materials. Why are respondents so uninformed? Ninety percent of college student respondents hold a library card, and 72 percent of all respondents hold a library card. 3-24 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

A Sample of College Students Verbatim Comments: What is the first thing you think of when you think of a library? Note: All verbatim comments presented as entered by survey respondents, including spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. deadlines 19-year-old undergraduate from the United States Almost all kinds of resources can be found there. 21-year-old undergraduate from Singapore Book Heaven! 21-year-old undergraduate from the United States Dust 22-year-old undergraduate from the United States Books. What else? 18-year-old undergraduate from the United States easily accesing to informations on line, the availability of books, journals ect.. 28-year-old graduate student from the United Kingdom books books and more books 40-year-old undergraduate from Australia Good resource, but may not always have the resource available at that moment when we need it urgently. 35-year-old graduate student from Singapore Happiness...I love the library! All that knowledge in one place. 27-year-old graduate student from the United States shhhhh 39-year-old undergraduate from Canada having to search throuh many books to find relevant information 19-year-old undergraduate from Australia College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-25

A Sample of College Students Verbatim Comments (cont.): What is the first thing you think of when you think of a library? Note: All verbatim comments presented as entered by survey respondents, including spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. I think of a large selection of books and magazines of all topics as well as having access to online journals and other online information sources 19-year-old undergraduate from the United States Lovely, lovely books! The complete package! 26-year-old undergraduate from Australia Outdated and lame. 18-year-old undergraduate from the United States research and studying 20-year-old undergraduate from Canada Silence and being bored. 20-year-old undergraduate from the United States Useful librarians 18-year-old undergraduate from the United States A wonderful resource filled to the brim with glorious books...such a wealth of knowledge. 24-year-old undergraduate from the United States be quiet 39-year-old undergraduate from the United States lots of books!! 47-year-old graduate student from Canada 3-26 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

3.9 Brand Potential Libraries, Books and Information The majority of respondents indicated that the main purpose of libraries was broader than books. To provide useful information for research and knowledge 21-year-old undergraduate from the United States A place to read peacefully, gather information 22-year-old undergraduate from the United States An institution that disseminates knowledge 23-year-old undergraduate from the United States Collect human knowledge 45-year-old undergraduate from Canada Entertainment and research 19-year-old undergraduate from Australia Education and fun 22-year-old graduate student from the United Kingdom As important as it is to know what your brand image is today, it is equally important to understand brand potential. What are the possibilities? Can brand image be changed or expanded? Can brand image be refreshed? What potential exists for expanding the Library brand beyond books? To explore Library brand potential, we asked respondents to look beyond first impression and indicate what they felt is the purpose (mission) of the library. Nearly half (49 percent) of college students and 53 percent of all respondents indicated that they feel the main purpose of the library is information. Thirty-three percent of college students and 31 percent of respondents indicated that the main purpose of the library is books. College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-27

60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Main Purpose of the Library by College Students and Total Respondents Information What do you feel is the main purpose of the library? Books Research Entertainment Materials College Students Total Respondents Reading question 810. Building (Environment) Responses to the question What do you feel is the main purpose of the library? varied in both content and length. Some responses were one- or two-word replies; others were lengthy answers indicating more than one main purpose of the library. For Learning, enjoyment, interacting with people, obtaining latest releases, able to get other than books eg. DVD S videos, Information, contact point. 40-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom Responses such as to allow the public the option to freely educate themselves or entertain themselves (21-year-old undergraduate from the United States) indicate a multidimensional view of the purpose of the library. Free, educate and entertainment are all mentioned. The majority of respondents indicated that their view of the main purpose of the library was broader than just books. When books were mentioned, other activities or services were also frequently mentioned. Main Purpose of the Library Word Count College Students Total Respondents Books 124 1019 Information 144 1290 Quality 0 4 Education 19 87 Learning 14 91 Free 36 253 The data suggest that, when prompted, many respondents can see a role for libraries beyond books. 3-28 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources

A Sample of College Students Verbatim Comments: What do you feel is the main purpose of the library? Note: All verbatim comments presented as entered by survey respondents, including spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. free access to information and entertaining reading 22-year-old graduate student from the United States provide access to information 20-year-old graduate student from the United States providing information i.e books 29-year-old graduate student from Australia To offer patrons access to knowledge 55-year-old graduate student from the United States to provide free information 21-year-old graduate student from the United States To provide information in a systematic way, and to allow patrons to borrow printed and non-printed material as needed 35-year-old graduate student from India A library is vital in order to get information. I trust and love libraries. The web cannot take over because the library is sacred. 18-year-old undergraduate from the United States A place that holds published information. A place where people can go to search for and locate information of a particular subject. 18-year-old undergraduate from Australia access to books, both informative and for enjoyment 21-year-old undergraduate from the United States entertainment and research 19-year-old undergraduate from Australia I think the main purpose of a library is to provide everyone with the means to print documents and information. 19-year-old undergraduate from Canada information/ research/ lending books 24-year-old undergraduate from the United States College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources 3-29

A Sample of College Students Verbatim Comments (continued): What do you feel is the main purpose of the library? Note: All verbatim comments presented as entered by survey respondents, including spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. place of research and place where people can study 22-year-old undergraduate from Australia provide solid information from all sources 21-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom PROVIDE USE OF BOOKS AND KNOWLEDGE THAT IS NEEDED AND QUIET ARE FOR PEOPLE THAT NEED TO STUDY 32-year-old undergraduate from the United Kingdom Providing informational materials to the community 22-year-old undergraduate from the United States Serve as a centralized information repository 21-year-old undergraduate from the United States To keep me from going crazy, I am a book nut. 51-year-old undergraduate from Canada to provide a vast amount of books and information that can be found in one place with some kind of order 18-year-old undergraduate from the United States 3-30 College Students Perceptions of Libraries and Information Resources